• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.263-269
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• 2001

Median cleft of the lower lip and/or mandible is a rare congenital anomaly, first mentioned by Couronne in 1819. Monroe(1966), Fujino(1970), Ranta(1984) and Oostrom(1996) conducted comprehensive reviews and list cases in literature. Median cleft varies greatly, from a simple vermilion notch to a complete cleft of the lip involving the tongue, the chin, the mandible, the supporting structures of the median of the neck, and the manubrium sterni. The associated anomalies include ankyloglossia, cleft tongue, neck contraction, heart lesion, absence of hyoid bone, and so on. The etiology of median cleft is unknown. Various possibilities, such as failure of mesodermal penetration into the midline, failure of fusion of mandibular processes, external factors apart from the embryogenic pattern such as pressure, position in utero, circulatory failure caused placental adhesion, diseases in pregnancy, and so on, have been discussed. A 8-year-old girl was referred to the Dept. of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital and had been aware of the fact that at birth "she had something wrong with her mouth." Shortly after birth she had been examined by a plastic surgeon and at that time surgical procedure had been performed to release the tongue from the lower jaw and lip at local hospital. On admission, she had a slight notching of lower lip and two fibrous frenum ran from the lip along the ventral surface of the tongue, diastema between her mandibular central incisors, and slightly constricted bifid mandible associated independent movement of the two halves of mandible. The patient had autogenous iliac bone graft to reconstruct the mandibular midline defect. The postoperative result was uneventful. In future, the correction of the soft tissue deformities such as notching of the lower lip and partial ankyloglossia will be required for the esthetic and functional improvement.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.403-408
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• 2005

Ankylosis is defined as a fusion of cementum or dentine with alveolar bone. Due to the loss of the periodontal ligament on the ankylotic area, the tooth is incapable of continued eruption and hence is unable to follow the normal vertical development of the neighboring teeth and alveolar process. A 6-year-old female was referred to the Dept. of Pediatric Dentistry for ankylosis of primary molars and congenital missing of permanent premolars on both jaws. She had neither specific past medical history nor trauma and infection history in oral and maxillofacial region. Radiographic finding is that the maxillary primary molars were the early onset of ankylosis and had fast root resorption rate. However the mandibular primary molars were ankylosed later and being resorbed slower than maxillary primary molars. The object of treating this case is to maintain the proper alveolar bone growth and retention of deciduous molars. The point of managing this case is as follows: Proper treatment (observation, restoration, or extraction) should be established after thorough consideration of the time of onset, the root resorption rate, progression of infraocclusion and the development of alveolar bone support. We should consider the timing of extraction of the ankylosed teeth without problem of neighbouring alveolar bone growth and tilting of adjacent teeth in the view of growth spurt. Early diagnosis is important to avoid many of the complications with infraoccluded primary molars.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.379-388
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• 2000

Objective : Although transoral transpharyngeal approach is a very useful method for the lesions of craniovertebral junction, it is not frequently used because of anatomical unfamilarity, risk of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) leakage, and resultant postoperative meningitis. To evaluate the usefulness of transoral transpharyngeal approach for various lesions of craniovertebral junction, clinical characteristics and the results of this approach are investigated. Methods : Transoral transpharyngeal approaches were performed in eight cases between 1996 and 1999. Among them, there were three basilar invaginations due to congenital anomalies, two odontoid type I fractures, two atlantoaxial dislocations, and one pseudotumor. Surgical methods included five cases of anterior decompression and posterior fusion, two anterior approaches for decompression and one transoral approach for biopsy. Results : This procedure allowed immediate clinical improvement in all cases. In seven patients with preoperative motor deficit showed a progressive neurological improvement. The follow-up plain x-rays demonstrated successful bony fusion in all patients. Only one patient suffered from postoperative wound dehiscence, but she completely recovered after wound revision. There was no complication of postoperative CSF leakages. Conclusions : Transoral transpharyngeal approach for the ventral lesions of craniovertebral junction, can be used as a relatively simple and effective method.